Changing Hands Bookstore has planned to open a second location in Phoenix, AZ for quite some time, but they hope to make it a reality thanks to a crowdfunding campaign to raise $80,000. It’s a fixed-funding campaign, which means backers will see their money returned if the store doesn’t reach its goal by December 24, and the store told Shelf Awareness that goal “is just a fraction of what we need to build a new indie bookstore. We’re putting up the bulk of the funding from our own resources. The $80K we hope to raise with this project will bring […]
eNews
Amazon Acquires AudioGo’s UK Catalog; Kindle Paperwhite Rumors; and More
Amazon has a licensing deal to publish the UK back catalog of bankrupt audiobook publisher AudioGo, according to the Sunday Times. The deal gives Amazon (which owns Audible) access to at least 5,000 titles from the company previously known as BBC Audiobooks. In Amazon rumor news, TechCrunch says the company’s next Kindle Paperwhite will be sold in the second quarter of 2014 and will include a high-resolution 300 ppi screen, custom typography, and an ambient light sensor. A new BBC documentary set to air Monday evening provides a behind-the-scenes look at the working conditions of one of Amazon’s UK-based warehouses, […]
Nook Store for Windows Launches Internationally
Just a day before reporting second quarter earnings, Barnes & Noble’s Nook has finally launched their long-promised international sales rollout — which works through Windows 8.1 devices. The new app and expanded storefront is said to be available in 32 countries in all, primarily across Europe (but also Australia and Canada), and 21 languages. The focus, offering “customized local market Nook storefronts with robust local content offerings,” is on these 9 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. Barnes & Noble executive Jim Hilt says in the release, “Nook is one of the leading digital reading platforms […]
Briefs: New Divisions for Macmillan Children’s UK; Charlotte Zolotow Dies; and More
Macmillan Children’s UK announced the creation of two audience-focused publishing divisions, Macmillan Under 6s, to be overseen by publisher Stephanie Barton, and Macmillan Over 6s, led by Venetia Gosling. Both Barton and Gosling will report to Belinda Rasmussen, with Gosling also working with Pan Macmillan publisher Jeremy Trevethan on crossover projects. Each new division also announced additional promotions: At Under 6s, Suzanne Carnell becomes publishing director, Picture Books & Pre-School, and Jackie McCann moves up to editorial director, Campbell and nursery. At Over 6s, Gaby Morgan has been promoted to editorial director, adding backlist strategy to her existing remit of […]
People, Etc.
Simon & Schuster has reorganized its manufacturing and production department in a bid to “further integrate the design and creation of ebooks into the earliest stages of our overall production process, as well as forge closer ties between our Adult publishing groups and the design, copyediting and production teams that create our books.” Irene Kheradi has been promoted to vp, executive managing editor of production and copy editing. Samantha Cohen moves up to vp, design and digital content development. Angela Hsiao has been named vp, demand planning and reprints. And Joe Bulger moves up to vp, client management and business development. […]
Judge Chin Finds Google’s Book Scanning Is Fair Use, First Ruling In Eight-Year Case
After 8 years of litigation over Google’s broad-scale scanning and indexing of more than 20 million books in libraries, Judge Denny Chin has granted summary judgment in favor of Google, ruling that their work qualifies as fair use. The revised case brought by the Authors Guild and individual authors has been dismissed. Judge Chin’s ruling is sweepingly in Google’s favor, praising the service the company has provided and offering no shades of grey or nuance of interpretation in weighing whether it qualifies as fair use. Judge Chin’s examination of all four factors to evaluate fair use is unequivocable, beginning with the […]